Process for the manufacture of porous brick and the like



Dec. 24, 1929. H. A. STOCKMAR Filed June 20. 1927 PROCESS FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF POROUS BRICK AND THE LIKE Home y Patented Dec. 24, 1929 v UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE This invention relates to a process for producing porous or light weight brick from a heretofore waste material.

The waste I propose to use contains the fuel with which the brick is burned, and is preferably the refuse of coal washeries which contains both fuel and brick shale in varying proportions. The fuel in this waste may run from to 35% and its amount may vary con- 10 stantly. 1

In order to get as near a correctly proportioned mixture as is possible from such source of shale and fuel I follow the following procedure, utilizing the apparatus as shown in 5 the accompanyin drawings which form a part of this speci cation, and in which Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a stratified mass of washer waste and illustrates how I propose to gain greater uniformity of its fuel content.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the manner of further equalizing the fuel content of the material before forming it intobricks and burning same.

Similar reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings.

The washery waste in a dry state is ground to the required fineness in a regular brick yard dry pan. It is then deposited in large conical piles 3 containing 500 tons, more or less.

In order to prevent fuel dust from escaping and exploding, the conical pile is built from the ground up by means of a vertically adjustable discharging spout 4 which con veys the ground waste from the pan and which is never more than a few inches above the top of the pile. As the pile grows in height the discharge spout is raised, its discharge end traveling substantially in a vertical line. This modeof discharge from the circular end of the spout will insure a thorough mixing of the waste as the ground mass will flow in uniform thin layers down the sloping sides of the conical pile. By this a method of piling I avoid the waste and danger resulting from dust. On the completion of a pile, four or more samples are taken by inserting a sampling tube 5 made of sheet metal two to four inches in diameter with a flap BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA OF POROUS BRICK AND THE LIKE 1927. Serial No. 199,916.

valve 6 at its bottom adapted to open when inserted and close when withdrawn. The samples are taken half Way up the pile, the sampling tube being pushed into the pile at an incline towards the center of the pile.

After samples are withdrawn they are mixed together and then analyzed. If the analysis shows, lack or shortage of either fuel or shale to burn a correct brick, the shortage may be added in the following manner. The ground mass rests on a base which slopes towards a screw conveyor trough 7 and a screw conveyor 8 therein to the brick press 9.

I install one or more automatic weighing machines 11 and 12 such as are used today in Portland cement plants.

These machines will act as supplemental feeders to supply the deficiency of either shale or fuel, depositing same in a thin stream onto the ground waste traveling by the screw 7 conveyor towards the brick press. The additions if they are needed will be thoroughly incorporated in the main mass before reaching the brick press by the constant agitation produced by the revolutions of the screw conveyor.

Before reaching the brick press the ma terial is sprayed with a fine spray 13 of water sufficient to produce a semi-dry pressed brick, the conveyor being of sufficient height to allow a thorough incorporation of the moisture to form a uniform brick.

The material is then pressed into bricks 14, under about three hundred tons pressure per brick, which are then conveyed by belts g5 15 directly to the kiln 16 and set. The kilns used are continuous chamber kilns regulated as such kilns are, by flues and Smokestack. The bricks, containing the fuel they need, will burn themselves and, by careful regulation of the draft flues, will furnish a first class light weight brick that can be shipped long distances and can be used in many ways where weight counts, such as backing of curtam walls for skyscrapers, backing of tile in vaulted ceilings, partitions, etc.

Though I have described with great particularity the details of the embodiment of the invention herein shown, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto, as

changes in arrangement and substitution of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as'new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process for the manufacture of porous or light Weight brick or tile, which consists in using the refuse of coal washeries containing brick making material and a variable amount of fuel, bringing the fuel percentage in the refuse to the average required for forming bricks, forming the bricks,and burning them by their own fuel content.

2. The process described in claim 1, in which the mass of refuse to be treated is rendered more uniform by first pulverizing it,

then depositing it in a pile built up by discharging the refuse at the apex of the rising pile and causing it to flow in a continuous thin stream down'and uniformly about the cone shaped outer surface of the pile, drawing the material from the base of the pile,

and treating the withdrawn material to bring its fuel percentage to the desired average.

3. The process for the manufacture of porous or light Weight brick or tile, which consists in pulverizing the refuse of coal Washeries containing clay or shale mixed with a variable amount of fuel, piling the refuse to effect mixing and averaging of its fuel content, withdrawing the mixed waste from the pile, incorporating and mixing in the waste that is Withdrawn sufiicient of its component parts to bring its fuel content to the desired percentage, pressing the Waste into bricks, and burning the bricks by their own fuel content.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

HENRY A. STOCKMAR. 

